The purpose of state special education funding (K.S.A 72-3422 ) is to supplement 92% of the excess cost incurred by local education agencies (LEA) for the provision of special education and related services to eligible students. However the Kansas Legislature has not provided sufficient funding to meet this requirement. LEA’s must transfer additional amounts, as necessary, from the General Funds in order to cover remaining costs of special education.

Reimbursement Guide
Licensure Information for Categorical Aid Reimbursement
Personnel Categorical Aid (PCA)-Special Teacher Reimbursement
Personnel Categorical Aid (PCA)-Trainings
Catastrophic Aid
Non-Public Equivalency Contracts-Special Teacher Reimbursement
Vacancy Reports
Special Education Attrition Report

15 minute video summary of categorical aid (Vimeo link)

FY2025 Special Education Reimbursement Guide (revised 4/9/25) (PDF)
FY2024 Special Education Reimbursement Guide (revised 6/12/23) (PDF)

ESY Policy FY23 (ESY 2022) through FY26 (ESY 2025) (PDF) (revised with clarifications 10/5/23)

Interpreter Qualifications 24-25 school year (FY25) (PDF)

Deadlines (Appendix A) (PDF)

Payment Information (School Finance)

Fiscal Guidelines and Manuals Page (check here for the most current version of transportation documents)
     Form 308 Instructions (PDF) Special Education Transportation
     Form 308 Q&A (PDF) Special Education Transportation

Transportation Reimbursement questions: Sara McCullah sara.mccullah@ksde.gov

Forms:

Hand Approval Request (fillable PDF) Email to Evelyn when complete
Hand Approval Request for Special Education Administrators (fillable PDF) Email to Evelyn when complete

KSDE Information:

KSDE Endorsements/Categorical Aid Chart (PDF)
Types of Teaching Licenses for Waivers and Substitutes (PDF)
Waivers and Provisionals Tip Sheet (PDF)
Which Kansas License works in which Early Childhood Education Setting for Categorical Aid? (PDF)
Waiver Information page (Teacher Education/Licensure)
ESY Policy for teachers FY23 (ESY 2022) through FY26 (ESY 2025) (PDF)
KSDE License Lookup
     Reading the KSDE License Lookup Tip Sheet (PDF)

Interpreter Information:

KSDE Interpreter Resources (Sensory Losses Page)
Interpreters and Categorical Aid FAQ (PDF)
Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

License Lookup/Information (Non-KSDE):

Kansas
Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board (Social Workers/Behavior Analysts) (external link)
Kansas Board of Healing Arts (KBHA) (OT, PT) (external link)
Kansas Health Occupations Credentialing - KDADS (Speech Language, Registered Dietician, Audiologist) (external link)
    Kansas Guidelines for School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists (2023) (external PDF)
Kansas Board of Nursing (NU) (external link)

National/Other
Behavior Analyst Certification Board (Behavior Analyst national certification) (external link)
Art Therapy Credentials Board (Art Therapist national certification) (external link)
Certification Board for Music Therapists (Music Therapist national certification) (external link)
Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (Orientation/Mobility national certification) (external link)

PCA (part of the Kansas Grants Reporting System (KGRS)) is used for claiming reimbursement from State Categorical Aid for staff used to provide special education and related services. This is the current special teacher reimbursement system.

KSDE Web Applications - to access this and many other KSDE programs

Guides:

• User Guide (PDF)
  • Getting Access (PDF)
  • Staff ID Search/Create/Modify (PDF)
• Error Checking: Errors, Discrepancies, and Substitutes (PDF)

File Specs:

Staff ID File Upload Specifications (PDF)
Staff ID Blank upload .csv file (can open in spreadsheet, contains header row) (.csv)
Records created in this program can be modified by users, if a record was created by or has been modified by Teacher Licensure, the following form must be submitted to update names: Form to update KSDE licensure name or address (PDF)
Positions File Upload Specifications (PDF)
Positions Blank upload .csv file (can open in spreadsheet, contains header row) (.csv)
Vacancy File Upload Specifications (PDF)

CAPS listserv

There is email functionality in the PCA application, but it's tied to deadlines specifically, and I don't have any way to select just districts that use PCA (since every district has an administrator). The CAPS listserv will be the means that information is disseminated.
To sign up, send this information:
  Send to this address: evelyn.alden@ksde.gov
  Subject line: CAPS Listserv
  Body of message: Email address, First Name, Last Name, LEA Number

For assistance or questions, please contact Evelyn Alden evelyn.alden@ksde.gov, 785-296-3868

Training Videos:

These can get you started if you're new to claiming special teacher reimbursement.
NOTE: The state board did NOT waive the substitute regulations this year, but the regs were revised to allow more days (FTE) for most substitutes.

• Overview of Categorical Aid (Vimeo)
  This is a presentation I did for new directors. 15 minutes and covers "what categorical aid is" and hopefully makes clear why we can't give a final amount until the end of the year. And why checking reports is important.
• Basics of Qualifications (Zoom) (Passcode: 30=zR1.e) (my apologies for the yawning, I really do find this interesting!)
  covers where to look for qualification requirements, where to look them up. Nearly an hour (sorry)

• Access in Authenticated Applications (5 min) (Zoom)
• Overview of Categorical Aid (16 min) (Zoom)
• Getting Started (27 min) (Zoom)  (Calendars start at 13:29)
• Entering Staff (15 min) (Zoom)
• Positions pt 1 (46 min) (Zoom)  (Special Para positions at 32 minute mark)
• Positions pt 2 (36 min) (Zoom)
• Inservice ( min) (Zoom)
• Substitutes (32 min) (Zoom)

NPE and catastrophic aid reporting requirements are found in the Data Dictionary, instructions for NPE and catastrophic aid data entry are found in the SPEDPro User guide. Both documents may be found on the MIS and Student Data page: https://www.ksde.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=519

Catastrophic Aid Form (Excel)

Catastrophic Aid questions: Mason Vosburgh Mason.Vosburgh@ksde.gov

Calculators section in Fiscal Auditing

NPE and catastrophic aid reporting requirements are found in the Data Dictionary, instructions for NPE and catastrophic aid data entry are found in the SPEDPro User guide. Both documents may be found on the MIS and Student Data page: https://www.ksde.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=519

Contract FY (Word) (PDF)
Contract Revision FY (Word) / (PDF)
Formula Memo (PDF)

Non-Public Equivalency Contract questions: Mason Vosburgh Mason.Vosburgh@ksde.gov

To address the Special Education personnel shortage, the exact number and type of unfilled budgeted positions in the State is reported by districts.  This information is used in reports required by the Federal Government, planning by the legislature, universities and colleges, the State Board of Education, and local education agencies.

Special Education Personnel Vacancy Report by LEA (PDF)
Special Education Personnel Vacancy Report by Area (PDF)
Vacancy Report Instructions (PDF) Video training (Zoom)
Kansas Education Employment Board

The Kansas Special Education Attrition Report, conducted by the Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB), is intended to determine how many special education personnel in Kansas are not returning each year. The data in this report is collected annually by KSDE for special teacher categorical aid, and is used here to identify personnel who have left the field of special education and a specific school district

Attrition Between 2023/24-24/25 (PDF)
Attrition Between 2022/23-23/24
Attrition Between 2021/22-22/23 (PDF)
Attrition Between 2020/21-21/22 (PDF)
Attrition Between 2019/20-20/21 (PDF)
Attrition Between 2018/19-19/20
Attrition Between 2017/18-18/19 (PDF)
Attrition Between 2016/17-17/18 (PDF)
Attrition Between 2015/16-16/17 (PDF)
Attrition Between 2014/15-15/16 (PDF)